Five human principles we must share with animals

It’s not about identical treatment here, but equal consideration for the needs of another creature. An animal brought up on a farm has no less right over life than a human brought up in a home. Yet, as a human race we harvest animals in the same way that we would a crop for our own needs. These animals can fear, suffer and feel loneliness like humans, but what they lack is a way of speaking out against the injustices against them. But animals have a worth besides their value to man. To grow as a compassionate race, humans must learn to accept our fellow creatures as equals, not lesser beings reduced to nothing more than a link on the food chain.

Animals deserve respect

It all boils down to respect. Something which animals don’t always get. From the plight of orcas performing for punters at water parks to the lack of compassion shown to those slaughtered by wildlife hunters, it’s clear that animal’s rights to dignity are undermined by the will of man and reduced to nothing more than entertainment.

Arguably more repugnant is the absence of respect given to animals that are bred for labs and subjected to scientific experiments which often produce inconsistent results when compared to human outcomes. These creatures seeing nothing more than the cage they grew up in or the bright lights of the lab until their dying day are treated like they’re insignificant.

Animals deserve a good home

Every living creature needs food, oxygen and shelter to thrive. With a family pet, we provide the best shelter we can. A warm, comfortable home, maybe a blanket or a couch to snooze on and a loving environment. But sadly, many animals don’t get this luxury, instead suffering at the hands of abusive owners.

While we can report these monsters to the ASPCA, little can be done for animals that see their natural habitations destroyed because of our desire for everyday items. Take palm oil. 66 million tons is produced annually and is used in sweet treats and as biofuel, causing deforestation that impacts on the Sumatran tiger, the Borneo elephant and the orangutan that dwell in the trees. These beautiful, endangered species are under threat because of human’s greed.

Animals deserve good food

Animals reared as livestock are often given poor quality animal feeds that are difficult to digest. However, chickens suffer the worst hardship, being starved for days to encourage them to shed their feathers. They sometimes resort to cannibalism in desperation to survive. At home, thankfully, you can control your pet’s diet. While we’d love to offer vegan food, vets are reluctant to recommend them. Instead, offer carnivorous felines a wet cat food diet. Dogs require a balance of a wet food and dry food such as Webbox dry dog food for a nutritional diet full of essential vitamins and minerals.

Animals deserve to live without fear

The points above highlight just how selfish our species has become, harvesting animals for food and their habitation for our needs before finally experimenting on God’s creatures to cure our ills without thinking of the moral ills we commit in the process. In this thirst for betterment, humans have made other creatures fear us. No animal should live like this when alternatives are available.

A wholesome vegan lifestyle is sustainable and helps limit the environmental impact of meat production. There are alternatives out there to animal testing like in vitro research which can be done using human cell cultures. Deforestation is an unnecessary practice for products that can be made synthetically. It’s time to demand that these five human principles are shared with animals before it’s too late.